Tennis star Taylor Townsend issued a grovelling apology on Wednesday after facing a social media backlash over insensitive comments made about Chinese food. Taylor, the world No. 1 doubles player, shared videos on Instagram of buffet food during a trip to Shenzen, China, calling the dishes “the craziest thing I’ve ever seen... and people eating this.” The dishes, which included soft-shelled turtle, bullfrog, and sea cucumber, prompted her to exclaim, “These people are literally killing frogs... bullfrogs. Aren’t those poisonous? Aren’t those the ones that be giving you warts and boils and stuff? And turtles?... All in all, I’d give this, like, a solid two out of 10 so far, because this is crazy!” The comments stoked outrage on English and Chinese social media, prompting a swift apology from the 29-year-old American, who is in China for the finals of the Billie Jean King Cup. “I just wanted to come on here and apologize sincerely from the bottom of my heart,” Townsend said in a video posted on Instagram. “I understand that I am so privileged as a professional athlete to be able to travel all around the world and experience cultural differences, which is one of the things I love so much about what I do. I have had nothing but the most amazing experience and time here, and in the tournament. Everyone has been so kind and so gracious and the things that I said are not representative of that at all... I just truly apologize.”
Taylor Townsend on the dinner buffet she saw in China:
— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) September 16, 2025
“I’m honestly just so shocked at what I saw in the dinner buffet. As I go back and I look… these people are literally killing frogs… bullfrogs. Aren’t those poisonous? Aren’t those the ones that give you warts and boils… pic.twitter.com/IQHDp49yrZ
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